Eight Important Firsts in the Last Week of an Epic Year
In the last week of 2023, it’s exciting to look back at all the firsts. From awards won to women making news, in navy hats and baseball caps, and while running companies and readying themselves to walk on the moon, women in 2023 showed girls how to be first.
Être, a mentorship platform designed - as our French name suggests - to ask girls who they want to be, seized upon these mentor moments throughout the year on Instagram and LinkedIn, spotlighting extraordinary women leading in their fields.
Keyed off a selection of the "To Be" verticals on our website, then, here are 8 important firsts as we enjoy the last week of an epic year.
In 2023 girls learned to…
Be Smart as Claudia Goldin became the first solo woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Extra credit for earning the prize studying equal pay in the workplace.
Be Informed when for the first time all 5 Sunday news shows were fronted by women. We took a deeper dive into the women breaking and making the news and loved their words on mentorship.
Be Brave upon hearing that Admiral Lisa Franchetti was named the first woman to lead the U.S. Navy as well as the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Be Strong by watching the first female GM to take an MLB team to the playoffs leave her role when management didn’t see her worth. Kim Ng also answered girls' question about being first in The Epic Mentor Guide, and set a new example this year by owning her worth.
Be Innovative knowing that NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who already set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman and participated in the first all-female spacewalk, will become the first female astronaut to walk on the moon.
Be Wi$e seeing that this year women ran 10.4% of companies on the Fortune 500 and that the number of female CEOs finally outnumbered the number of CEOs named John.
Be Connected after learning that Greta Gerwig not only broke box office records across the globe and made it into the $1B club, but that Barbie’s epic merchandising strategies connected brands across an unfathomable number of industries.
Be Happy dancing to the news that Beyoncé’s 32nd Grammy Award made her the artist with the most Grammy wins ever and the further news that Taylor Swift was named TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year. Bonus track we have on repeat: Taylor’s comments about Beyoncé and the impact of mentorship.
What will be the firsts in 2024? All I can say is that January is National Mentoring Month, so the start of the new year will undoubtably be filled with epic mentor firsts. And, as we like to say: first, but definitely not last.
So, get ready girls...you’re up next.
Looking forward with warmest holiday wishes,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Last year Être measured the state of girls’ confidence and the impact of early mentorship. As we get ready to release updated findings in Q1 2024, here are three stats you won’t want to miss: Between 13 and 18 the percentage of girls who say they feel confident drops by 35%; the percentage of girls who say they feel smart drops by 34%; and 86% of girls said they would be more confident with a mentor. What will our 2024 Confidence Study reveal? Stay tuned!
